The original ivory top pieces seen here make these two heads very valuable. Quite often, these pieces was detached from the heads and sold separately, making heads with original attachments hard to find. Stylistically, the two heads here bear reference to Benin bronzes from the 16 th century, with coral head caps, single pearls on the foreheads, flared coral collars and hanging pearl plaits. The two faces, however, do not feature the very dignified and smooth features of the earlier Benin bronzes; instead, they are idiosyncratically stylised, suggesting that the heads were intended primarily as bases for the ivory attachments.